Turn Around
by sunnydanibunbun
Summary: Ren's life changes completely when his worst fears are realized. Things start to fall apart around him. Will he be able to build his life back up, or will everything he has worked for crumble before his eyes?


**Disclaimer: I definitely do not own Skip Beat!, and I'd be a little concerned for their mental health if anyone thought otherwise.**

**...**

**Prologue**

* * *

Heavy and moist air churned and sunk to the ground, weighing down on Tokyo like a thick fleece blanket. But despite this, the city was still a bustling center of activity. Tired businessmen waiting for their bus conversed politely, yanking their tight collars away from their sweat covered necks. Honking cars covered the roads; the drivers all trying to beat traffic so they could go home and wash the remains of the sweltering day from their skin. A group of middle school girls shuffled down the street, applying glitter gloss and chattering about Fuwa Sho's upcoming album release.

Yet all of this was missed by a certain man as he quickly shut his window blinds. Checking the locks on all his doors, the man sat down on his beige armchair and stared at the recording device on his coffee table. This small piece of technology, which the man had bought a couple days ago for about a day's wages, now held information bigger than anything most people in the city could imagine. It was so shocking, in fact, that the man who had discovered it began to wonder if he had simply made the whole thing up.

"...Just to be sure.." he muttered to himself as he picked up the recorder and tentatively pressed play.

_ 'Come, sit down, Ren!' _A booming, but friendly voice called out. This was followed by the soft patter of footsteps, until a lower voice stated,

'_Good afternoon, President. Is there a reason you called me in here to see you?' _Eighty percent of all the people in Japan (and ninety five percent of the females) would be able to confidently recognize that voice as belonging to famous actor Tsuruga Ren.

'_A straight shooter, as always!' _the first voice, presumably the president of LME, chortled, '_Can't an employer check up on one of his beloved employees?'_

_'Yes, but your talks usually have some kind of ulterior motive.' _Ren replied bluntly.

'_Usually I'd argue that, but today I'll just cut to the chase' _A small pause could be heard on the tape, until the president continued, '_I'm worried about you Ren.'_

_'I assure you that there's no reason to be' _interjected Japan's number one dreamboat.

'_Don't even try to lie to me Ren. I see how you've been acting recently. It's obvious that BJ is affecting you. I understand how hard this role is for you._

_'President, I have this role under control.'_ Ren said firmly_._

_'I'm not worried about your acting', _the president explained, '_I'm just worried that it might be making you remember a bit of your past life. I can see how hard it has been recently for you to keep up your charade of 'Tsuruga Ren'. And I'm not telling you to pull it together. I know it's not that easy. What I'm telling you is...maybe it's time for you to stop hiding.'_

_'Are you suggesting-'_  
_  
'This is a choice that you need to make, Ren,' _the president interrupted_, 'I just wanted to remind you that, no matter how much try to deny it, you will always be Hizuri Kuon'. _At this point, the man paused and ran his shaking hands through his wiry, brown hair in relief. The rest of the conversation held no interest for him; he had heard all he needed to.

In reality, the man was quite surprised that his plan to bug the president of LME actually worked. He half expected the tape to be blank, or to only catch boring snippets of pointless small-talk. Not in his wildest dreams did he plan on coming across such a enormous secret. For a moment he thought curiously of how Tokyo, hell, even most of Japan, would be ripped off its hinges. But then he licked his lips, and thought about the money he would receive when he sold this juicy story to the tabloids.

This was the money he needed, to quit his job and start over in a new town. It was just an added bonus that he got to bring down Japan's own 'Mr. Perfect'. He wondered what the 'untouchable' Tsuruga Ren would think of becoming hated by his fans. Smiling deviously, the middle aged man reached for his cell phone and dialed the number of a tabloid magazine he had on speed dial.

"This will surely turn my life around," he mumbled happily as he dialed, his stubby fingers almost slipping off the keys. "And yours too, Tsuruga", chuckling darkly while he listened to dial tone.

* * *

**Author's Note: This is just a little idea I had last night while I was in a half-asleep state, trying to do my english homework. As much as the ideas are spinning in my head and I want to go write the next chapter, I need to study for my finals this week. But school's out on thursday, and then I can write whenever I want! **

**Any grammar/spelling mistakes in this that interfere with your enjoyment of reading? Please let me know! Or just review because it will make me happyyy. **


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